


legends never die

by the_crownless_queen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, News Media, POV Outsider, Social Media, That's it, Tony Stark Lives, Tony Stark isn't dead, listen, media fic, that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21791593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen
Summary: 5 CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE DEFINITELY FAKED THEIR DEATHSposted on September 10th, 2025, at 3:05amTony Stark aka Iron Manread more
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Everyone
Comments: 12
Kudos: 175





	legends never die

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of a Secret Santa exchange for Lizzy, who just wanted Tony.  
> Well, this is what my brain came up with... No actual Tony but he's there in spirit?  
> Also thanks to Lin for betaing and telling me all the ways this could be better :)

**green-is-my-color**

_ [Video: A white blocky title saying ‘Five times Tony Stark escaped death and one time he didn’t’ fades into shaky footage of a teenager drunkenly stumbling into a fountain. The cameraman laughs for thirty seconds until the kid doesn’t come up. “Shit!” he says. The camera shakes harder as he scrambles to the fountain — only to fall backward, screaming, as the kid springs up from the fountain. _

_ Footage cuts to a news report announcing Tony Stark missing in Afghanistan, with a background of blown-out military vehicles in the desert ween from above, then to another new report dated months later  _

_ The third scene is from a racetrack in Europe, where a man wearing crackling electrical whips strides into the tracks and attacks Tony Stark’s race car, and it shifts to Stark doing on the armor and crushing whatever powered the other guy’s whips. _

_ The fourth is the worst footage yet. The camera shakes and blurs as whoever’s filming zooms in on a hole in the sky. The hole shuts suddenly, prompting off-screen screams of triumph, right until the light fades enough for the camera to reveal the red and gold man-shaped figure falling from the sky, caught moments before it hits the ground by a green blur. _

_ The clip for the fifth is another excerpt from a news report, showing a missile hitting a cliffside house and sending it tumbling into the sea, before cutting to a shaky video of an Iron Man suit catching a dozen people falling from the sky. _

_ The last clip is silent, and in black and white. It spans a huge crowd, all dressed in dark suits, gathered at an old Snap memorial, and the scene seems to go on forever. But finally, the camera stops on a huge Iron Man statue, zooming in on the plaque saying ‘Tony Stark, 1970-2025’ and finally fading to black.] _

**i-died-1nce**

Sue you bitch how could you, I told you not to put the plus one thing

**green-is-my-color**

Look, Tony Stark giving his life for half the  universe is probably the greatest thing any living being can or will ever do and that’s _ so _ important, but also the man was a disaster who should have died actual decades ago.

Also you know how much I love my angst.

_ #sorrynotsorry #tony stark #don’t look at me i’m in denial_

* * *

### 5 CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE DEFINITELY FAKED THEIR DEATHS

_posted on September 10th, 2025, at 3:05am_   
  


  1. Tony Stark aka Iron Man



read more

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* * *

/r/ironmanlives

##### Tony Stark is Alive

submitted 3 weeks ago by tsfan111

27982 upvotes

> Okay, so I know some people might find this distasteful, or whatever, but like, we do totally need to talk about how Tony Stark clearly isn’t dead??? Like come on, the guy survived having what essentially amounts to a bomb powerful enough take out a city (see  here and  here )  _ and _ a missile aimed at his house (amongst other things) I feel like somehow he’d have found a way to live through this.
> 
> Putting aside all the sightings (see  here or  here or even  here ), the man has been creating AIs for decades now? And yeah the Ultron thing kinda didn’t work out so great (though you check  this post on why Stark probably wasn’t  _ entirely _ to blame — in short, Loki’s evil brainwashing scepter was involved), but you’d think he’s worked out the kinks by now?
> 
> So… what’s stopping him from like, uploading himself into, I don’t know, the internet? Or just a few server banks? You know he’s got the money for it, and dude certainly had the brains to do it too? 
> 
> Also he worked with Dr. Cho (see  here for the amazing story of her Cradle and how it can 3D-print back actual flesh and blood) and they reportedly created the android Vision’s body back during the Sokovia/Ultron crisis? And he’s a known friend of Dr. Bruce Banner aka the Hulk aka who even knows what he goes by these days except that the guy has seven PhDs  _ and _ managed to do something about that split personality thing he had going on?
> 
> Seems to me like he could clearly have just stored his brain as a safeguard and then built himself a new body after the Un-Snap thing happened.
> 
> So yeah, Tony Stark is totally alive, and he could be  _ anywhere. _

* * *

* * *

**its-war-machine**

so…

_ [Video: The angle is bad, but the camera clearly shows Colonel James Rhodes (aka Iron Patriot aka War Machine) laughing at something a second man says. They’re walking away from the camera, and the second man has his back to the camera, but we can still see dark hair and the hint of sunglasses, and hear their voices clearly enough. _

_ “I’m serious, honeybear,” the second man cajoles, “if you want bionic legs, I’ll give you bionic legs. The Smurphette’s helped me put together this arm—” here he taps against his arm, letting the camera catch a hollow, metallic sort of sound “— and I know we can do wonders together.” _

_ “For the last time, Tones,” Rhodes replies, speaking with the tired tone of a father who’s had to corral their child on a sugar-high at an amusement park for too long, “no thank you. I don’t need bionic legs. Or,” he adds quickly, “bionic  _ anything.”

_“I’ll wear you down,”_ _the second man swears, and Rhodes sighs._

_ “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he mutters, almost too quiet for the camera to pick up. _

_ They move out of frame almost immediately after the exchange, and the feed cuts off abruptly.] _

who else totally saw this coming??

**purple-dude-can-suck-my-dick**

… hate to have to rain on your parade but… this doesn’t mean anything? we never even saw that guy’s face

**fifteen-4-life**

sure… you ‘hate to’

**who-reMembers-the-void**

okay so first of all, Tony Stark had (has?) a history of calling Rhodes all kinds of crazy nicknames (as evidenced in literally any clip where they both appear, google it I’m not your slave) and honeybear definitely fits

also second, Rhodes called him ‘Tones’, also a nickname he’s used before  _ on camera _ to refer to Stark

And then there’s the obvious engineering genius — bionic arms/legs?? come on guys, it hasn’t been that long since Tony Stark revolutionized the field of robotics

_ (Again.) _

I’d say the hair and sunglasses are iconic enough that they can be recognized even from the back, but that’s definitely the least important bit here

_ #tony stark #ironsightings #is that the proper term? #haven’t done this before #also not sure i actually believe it but like… #this is compelling _

* * *

istg liz, I saw him again same order and everything it has to be him, right? tell me i’m not going crazy oh god, what if i am going crazy??

i love you babe but you need to breathe like seriously how much sleep did you even have last night? wait no how much coffee have you had today

… some but i’m not lying

hey, i never said you were just maybe your mind’s playing tricks on you we’ve all seen weird stuff after drinking too much coffee

yeah idk maybe i mean, you’re probably right i just… wish it really was him you know?

yeah, i know trust me tho, i’m pretty sure if tony stark really was alive he’d be able to find better coffee than the swill you serve down there

ugh yes definitely that’s an excellent point

… look I get off early tomorrow, if you want we can go to the memorial have real coffee see if you can spot the _real_ tony stark there i mean who knows

that’s not funny

it’s a little bit funny, admit it

… fine. it is a little bit funny but you’re still the worst i only have english tmw afternoon, so i can skip and you can pick me up at three?

it’s a date

god we have the weirdest dates

are you complaining?

never love you see you tmw

* * *

  


* * *

  


**pepper-potts-is-my-queen**

Have you guys seen this???

_ _

Like on the one hand good for her but also I’m so sad??? Cause she and Tony Stark were such a great couple, and their kid is so cute??

**aliens-R-real**

omg. I hope it’s real? but also not??

also this is a magazine literally called ‘Gossip’ I don’t know if we can trust them?? but damn she deserves to be happy after the last few years

**pepper-potts-is-my-queen**

right???

**dr---who**

is nobody going to mention that they got her name wrong??? didn’t she keep hers when she married stark?

**babes-babes**

is nobody going to mention that  _ this is clearly Tony Stark??? _

**aliens-R-real**

omg wtf

_ #it’s true??? #like the article says the new guy is called howard potts but like that’s the fakest name ever? #he didn’t even shave that awful goatee?? #is it a clone? #have we all hallucinated the past… 7 years?_

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Tony was totally with Peter at the sandwich place, and him and Happy have a non-official contest of who'll get the most 'sightings'.  
> I haven't actually decided on a way for Tony to have lived there, just that he has, so you can picture whatever way you like :p  
> He is also totally enjoying posing as Pepper's new trophy husband.


End file.
